Chapter 7
Jealousy, rage, and madness swirled through Inuyasha's veins fighting each other for dominancy. This was the absolute last thing that he would ever expect to drop in on. It felt like his whole world had been pieced together to tease him and then explode in his face. Was this really happening? It was certainly Seshomaru who was standing in front of him, but Kagome looked different. She looked like Kikyo, only with a different colored priestess outfit. Her eyes no longer smiled, but instead stared ahead without reflecting life. What the fuck was going on here!?
"Kagome….." Inuyasha didn't know what else to say. He was furious, but sad at the same time. She didn't come back to him because of Seshomaru? Did that bastard even have feelings?
"You know me?" Kagome's eyes brightened at the idea, but her body was still pressed against Seshomaru unwilling to leave his protection. Just because someone knew her, it didn't mean that they wouldn't hurt her.
"What do you mean, do I know you!?" Inuyasha was at a loss for words. Each muscle in his body simultaneously tensed at the thought of her acting like she didn't know who he was because he caught her with his brother. If there was a Hell on Earth, this was it.
"Exactly what she said half-wit. She has lost her memory." Seshomaru tightened his grip on Kagome not wanting her to move away from him. Seshomaru was so involved with Kagome at the time, that he didn't even sense Inuyasha coming towards them. Just one more example of how women caused weakness. But there was no way of turning back, he wanted her and now he was going to have to fight for her.
"You don't remember me? You mean…everything….we have been through….means nothing?!" Disheartened, Inuyasha wished he would have just died. The vision of Kagome in his dreams was just a giant tease. She has lost her memory of him, and with that her love?
Great, Seshomaru got to be her knight in shining fucking armor, when it should have been me. Inuyasha had heard Kagome tell stories about knights to Shippo and Inuyasha always considered himself a knight to Kagome. But it appears he has been replaced by an asshole.
"But she does know that you tried to kill her."
Yep, Inuyasha thought, ASSHOLE.
"You're Seshomaru's half-brother? My friend?" Wriggling out of Seshomaru's death grip, Kagome walked towards Inuyasha. "Why did you try to kill me?"
"Seshomaru, you bastard," Inuyasha's jaw clenched and his heart began racing. "Kagome, do you know the reason why Seshomaru is missing part of his arm?"
Turning a questioning look to Seshomaru, Kagome didn't understand how that was relevant to the current conversation. This was a chance for her to find the missing pieces, and these two demons were hashing it out. Seshomaru's half-brother said that they had been through a lot together. Like what? Was he an important person in the past? He did get rather angry when he saw her wrapped up against Seshomaru.
"No, I don't. But I don't see how that matters. Can you tell me about myself?" Turning back to face Inuyasha, Kagome stepped closer thinking that maybe he would be more willing to give out information the further she was from Seshomaru.
"I cut his arm off when he tried to kill you awhile back. He seems to have left out some important things that you should have known." Inuyasha was thankful that Kagome was no longer in Seshomaru's embrace, but he was still furious at the current situation. "I can tell you anything you would like to know about yourself though." Taking his eyes off Seshomaru, Inuyasha settled his gaze on Kagome. She truly was breath taking.
"So basically I'm standing between two demons who have tried to kill me. Hmmm, I feel so much better! Could you two just stop whatever it is you're doing and tell me what the Hell is going on here!?" Stomping the ground, Kagome was sick of hearing about people trying to kill her. Right now all she wanted was to know who she was and where she belonged, nothing else really mattered.
Reaching out for Kagome, Inuyasha wanted to pull her closer. It had been a long and tiring journey trying to find her and now that he was here he just wanted to touch her and make sure she was really there.
The instant Seshomaru realized that Inuyasha wanted to touch Kagome, a loud growl erupted from his throat. Slipping his fingers in the waistband of her pants he pulled her back against his chest.
"Inuyasha! Stay away from her or I will finally put you out of your misery." Barring his teeth, Seshomaru held Kagome protectively, daring Inuyasha to make a move towards her. His short time with her had caused him to become a little possessive it seemed.
Unsheathing Tetsaiga, Inuyasha felt rage coursing through his entire being. How the fuck did Seshomaru have the nerve to yank his woman around? She may not know who she belongs to but Inuyasha was determined for her to see the light.
"I'm giving you one last chance to back away Seshomaru." Inuyasha stepped forward with Tetsaiga ready to slice off Seshomaru's other arm that held Kagome against him.
"Ok!! So you two need to quit fighting and tell me what the Hell is going on here!" Trying to loosen Seshomaru's grip around her waist, Kagome struggled to get free. Seshomaru was just too strong; his one arm overpowered her entire body.
Setting Kagome to the side, Seshomaru lunged towards Inuyasha sweeping his claws across the front of his body. Inuyasha let out a cry of pain before he swept Tetsaiga around and came back down towards Seshomaru. Inuyasha was bleeding from a gash down his front side, but that didn't slow down his ability to wield Tetsaiga. There was no way he would let Seshomaru have Kagome; Inuyasha would die before he ever saw that happen.
Dodging the blow, Seshomaru skidded to the right trying to avoid any of the debris that was created from the sword making contact with the solid ground. The second he caught his baring, Seshomaru pushed off the ground and darted at Inuyasha from the side.
"Oh No you don't! Wind Scar!!!!!!!" Slamming Tetsaiga through the rift caused by Seshomaru's demonic aura, Inuyasha refused to let Seshomaru over come him that easily.
Seshomaru moved far enough out of the way to avoid a direct hit, but it skimmed his side. The blow had ripped part of Seshomaru's kimono off along with skin and not to mention all of the landscape behind him.
"STOP NOW!!" Kagome desperately wanted them to stop fighting before they ripped each other apart. She had heard of family feuds before but this was a little extreme.
Ignoring her plea, the brothers continued to rip each other to shreds. They each fought with intense passion; dodging blows, slicing limbs, and fighting on without slowing. The forest no longer looked like a forest, but a battle ground. The demons were hurting more than one another; nature was dieing around them.
Getting tired of their endless battle, Kagome stomped to their fighting ground and tried to use her body to force them to quit fighting; which wasn't a good idea the instant she got slammed back by a flying tree branch. Landing sprawled out across the ground; she grabbed her stomach where she still occasionally ached from her partially healed wounds. Ugh, Kagome thought, I hope I didn't rip them open again. Stupid! I should have known better than to do that!
Gasping for breath, she squeezed her eyes shut hoping the sharp pains shooting through her side would ease long enough for her to regain her breath.
"Damn it! Kagome!" Turning his attention away from Seshomaru, Inuyasha changed direction and headed for Kagome. Before he had taken two steps Seshomaru plowed into his side knocking him to the ground a few feet away. Seshomaru wanted to get to Kagome first, and there was no way he would let that mutt get there before him.
Pushing to her knees, Kagome tried to force herself into an upright position. Before she had a chance to gain her balance Seshomaru delicately swooped her up into his arms and jumped a short distance away from Inuyasha.
"Stay away from her Inuyasha! She is mine." By the time Inuyasha regained his composure from the direct blow from Seshomaru, they were gone.
Holding on to her middle, Kagome could do little but go with Seshomaru. It was weird that Inuyasha was one of the people they had been looking for and the second they find him, Seshomaru becomes jealous.
Inuyasha…..hmmmm…..Inuyasha, rolling his name around in her head, Kagome felt like it was very familiar, why does that name make my heart hurt. The closer I came to him, the faster my heart would race and my breathing would almost falter. I have to know him somehow. I have to find him again. If only Seshomaru would have let me have time with him. What am I thinking!? He doesn't own me, I will find Inuyasha with or without Seshomaru's help and obviously he isn't going to help me. I wish these gashes would just heal already! If I wouldn't have been hurt, Seshomaru wouldn't have taken me away so fast!
"Why didn't you let me stay and talk to him!! I could have found something out!" Kagome turned a heated look at Seshomaru trying to show him how irritated she was with him. It wasn't fair that he acted like this. They weren't together were they? Yea, so they had had a few semi-intimate moments, but they never led to anything except a promise to stay. But there is just no way she can stay with them when her past is so close to coming back to her. Seshomaru should understand; not act like a giant asshole.
Seshomaru ignored her yelling and headed on towards camp in silence to retrieve Rin. It was unlike him to react to situations with jealousy; the bloodshed was normal, but the reason was ridiculous. How did this woman make him feel like ripping Inuyasha to pieces just to keep him away from her?
I told her I would help her find her friends, Seshomaru thought, but now that the day has come, I just don't want to share her with anybody else. I don't want her to regain her memory because then she would love Inuyasha again. Hmmm…….. She will leave me anyway; I'm sure, just not yet.
"I'm tired of you ignoring me Seshomaru. What is your deal lately!? You tell me you will help me find my friends, and then when one finds us you freak out! What is wrong!? What are you afraid of?"Kagome's irritation level was rising by the minute. The longer Seshomaru ignored her, the more she wanted to beat his chest in.
A few more minutes passed and finally Seshomaru decided to speak before his Miko had a heart attack in his arms. Pressing her firmly against his chest he paused before entering camp and let his eyes fall on Kagome's face. "You foolishly ran into the middle of a battle between a demon and a half-demon, and then injured yourself. I could not risk your life by letting you stay there with bleeding wounds. Are you angry with me for that?"
"Yes! And no……but I at least wanted the chance to talk! You two were too busy fighting with each other. What is the deal with that any way!? He is your family Seshomaru. He knows me, really knows me. Being near him felt familiar. What if he doesn't come looking for me again? Are you going to help me find him again; because you weren't too keen about him being near me?"
Seshomaru's eyes widened in surprise at the thought of her feeling more familiar around Inuyasha rather than himself. Of course he didn't want her near him, he would take her away.
"He will not stop looking for you, and when he finds us again hopefully he has learned to keep his distance."
"Why do you want him to keep his distance? Are you being over-protective?"
"Don't be dense Miko. It has taken us quite some time to get your wounds almost healed and then the second that mutt shows up you re-injure yourself!"
"I HATE it when you call me Miko! My name is Ka…go….me! And you know it; you just said that to be rude!"
"Well you are a Miko. So you want to be with him then?" Sighing, Seshomaru pried his eyes away from her face and let them settle on the landscape.
"That's not what I'm saying Seshomaru! But I do want the chance to talk with him!" Crossing her arms, Kagome felt helpless in his arms. She knew that Seshomaru had to care for her; but there was something he wasn't telling her about Inuyasha. "When he finds me, do not fight with him Seshomaru! I need to find out about myself before I can move on with you."
Immediately Seshomaru found her eyes again. Did she really just say that? Delicately hooking her hair behind her ears, he made her eyes clearly visible. Was she telling him the truth or just trying to appease him for the moment? Her eyes didn't appear to be lying, but they did look tired.
"You look exhausted. I will wrap you up in blankets and then we will move forward. Will you be able to rest if I carry you?"
"Yes, but why can't we just stay in the same camp tonight?"
"I want you rested and in better shape before he finds you again."
Walking into camp, Seshomaru set Kagome down on a pile of blankets. Rin was sitting on a log playing with sticks around a small fire. She really was able to keep herself busy with things that really just weren't interesting.
"Rin, pack up, we will be leaving tonight." Seshomaru looked down the path that they had just come and knew that Inuyasha would be upon them very soon. But with Kagome's memory gone, it appears that it won't matter if Inuyasha finds them because she has already said that she would be going with Seshomaru in the end. Even if someone tells her about her past, they can't make feel the way she had previously. There are already new emotions taking the place of the old ones. And it would seem that Seshomaru was the center of them.
What the fuck just happened? She was right in front of me…I almost had her in my arms. But that bastard Seshomaru has screwed with her head! Her eyes were so dead, is that what it looks like to lose yourself? And she has lost her memory, there has to be a cause and a way to bring them back. Without her memories she might actually stay with Seshomaru! I would kill him before that happened! ASSHOLE!
Prying his face from the dirt, his side ached from being plowed by Seshomaru. Pushing himself up, Inuyasha shook off the dirt and stretched his limbs. Finding Tetsaiga not too far from where he landed he put it in its sheath and hung it around his waist. His wounds began to heal immediately along with his resolve to find her again.
Hitting all fours he sniffed the area for the direction they disappeared in. Catching her scent he flew full force in hopes to catch them before they made it too far. Knocking down trees and skimming bushes, nothing kept him from his pace. He couldn't jump through the trees otherwise he would lose her scent; he had to stay on the ground, which made travel a little more difficult.
Crashing through the outlying brush of Seshomaru's camp, Inuyasha slid into the middle of them packing there things.
"Did you think you would get rid of me that easily Seshomaru!?" Inuyasha reached for Tetsaiga while trying to determine each person's location. He didn't want anybody to get hurt except his asshole half-brother.
"I assumed that you had learned your place Inuyasha. I didn't feel the need to move any faster. You should know that destroying you would merely be my play time. However, I have told Kagome that she can talk with you without my interference; so you better take the opportunity immediately before I change my mind."
"Well isn't that nice of you Seshomaru." Inuyasha stated sarcastically. Pushing Tetsaiga back into his sheath, Inuyasha visibly cooled down. It would be easier to see Kagome without having to fight against Seshomaru.
Walking in Kagome's direction, Inuyasha couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was wounded again and her shirt had specks of blood dotting the front. Inuyasha's stomach clenched and his heart hurt to see where she was bleeding from. Those had to be wounds made by him when he had completely transformed into a demon.
"Seshomaru? Will you please give Inuyasha and me some privacy?" Kagome just needed a little time alone with him to be able to get everything that she wanted to know off her chest. Seshomaru had a way of making you feel uncomfortable and that was the last thing she needed right now.
"I will give you one hour. Inuyasha keep your distance or I will take back what I said about my interference. Rin come along." Turning into the forest, Seshomaru slowly glided out of sight.
Sitting across from Kagome, Inuyasha didn't know what to say. She was so close but still so far away.
"Kagome…..I…I…have been looking for you. I was afraid you were dead; actually I thought you were dead. Finding you has been a miracle. I don't know how you lost your memory, but I will do anything to help you remember or fill in the missing pieces. And why are you with that heartless bastard?" Inuyasha wanted Kagome to leave with him, it was ridiculous that he was having to worry about Seshomaru getting in the way.
"He saved me, now he has become a bit protective is all."
"You don't belong with him Kagome. You belong with me." Inuyasha reached out to touch her hand, but she jerked it back before he had a chance to caress her fingers. "Are you afraid of me?"
"I still don't remember you and like Seshomaru said, I was injured by your hand." Kagome's heart had nearly stopped at the thought of him touching her. She had this strong urge to crawl into his arms and ask him to make everything okay, but that just wouldn't be appropriate.
"I'm sorry I hurt you Kagome, it wasn't the real me that did that. Naraku exposed me to a tainted jewel and I turned into a full demon. I didn't know what I was doing at the time. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
"To tell you the truth, I don't really know what to believe. I have actually been looking for you and a few others from what I was told. A demon slayer and a monk?"
"That's right, we are usually all together, but when I caught your scent I ran ahead and left them behind to catch up later. We are your friends Kagome, you should be with us."
"I would like to meet them again, but I am with Seshomaru and Rin now. I just need your help to find out a little about myself."
Catching his breath, Inuyasha looked at the ground. She wants to be with him?
"You can't stay with him Kagome!" Standing up Inuyasha threw his arms out in desperation. "I love you Kagome." Dropping back down to his knees, his arms fell limply to his side. "I just don't think I can live without you. I never had the chance to tell you before, but you need to know that I have always loved you and I am sorry for every painful thing I ever caused in your life."
A lump formed in Kagome's throat at the sight of him looking so helpless. There was something about him that led her to believe that this was not something that he would ever do in front of someone.
Crawling to his limp form a few paces away, she grabbed his hand to try and reassure him. The second her fingertips touched his skin a void formed in the world. It was like time had stopped around her and the only thing that existed in that moment was her. Memories exploded from their hiding places and saturated her mind. The impact was so dramatic that her body crashed to the ground with her hands held to head in hopes of calming the storm. Everything came back to her: her love for Inuyasha, how Sehsomaru saved her…….everything.
Opening her eyes, she starred straight into amber orbs that created salty tracks that ran down a worried face. Focusing on his face she realized it was Inuyasha and he was crying. She was cradled in his arms and right now it seemed like that was the safest place she could ever be.
"I remember." Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled his forehead to her own. "I forgive you."
I'm sorry it took me longer than usual to update! I work in a gym and January is by far our busiest month! New Years resolutions rock! I make bank! Anyway, please tell me what you think. There are still chapters to come, I just haven't decided how many yet! ; )
